They’re hired! College apprenticeship campaign surpasses 100 apprentices in 100 days target

The Chichester College Group is celebrating the end of its Pledge 100 apprenticeship campaign, surpassing it’s target by more than 30%.

The campaign, which launched in August this year and finished last week, aimed to secure 100 apprenticeships for people aged 25 or over in just 100 days – but it went one step further and recruited a total of 133 apprentices!

Paul Rolfe, Group Director of Sales, Marketing and Commercial at CCG, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have supported 133 people into apprenticeships in just 100 days! 

“Apprenticeships offer fantastic opportunities to employ new people into a company or to provide skills development for existing staff.

“Everything we do at our Chichester College Group colleges is about changing lives through learning, and that’s what our apprenticeship do. By focusing on older apprentices, those who are 25 or above, we’ve demonstrated that it’s never too late to train or re-train, learn new skills or develop your existing ones to the next level.

“And although our Pledge 100 campaign has come to an end, the team at CCG will be continuing to work with employers and to offer apprenticeships to people of all ages, across a wide range of industries.”

Across its five colleges – including Brinsbury College, Chichester College, Crawley College, Haywards Heath College and Worthing College – apprenticeships are offered in a wide range of sectors and the group works with a range of leading employers including Boeing, Rolls Royce, Taylor Wimpey, Hilton Hotel, RSPCA as well as the NHS and local councils.

According to DfE Apprenticeship and Traineeship Data for 2019/20, there were a total of 322,500 apprenticeship starts of which 151,000 (47%) were aged 24 and over.

When CIPD Level 3 Foundation People Practice apprentice Lisa O’Dell was asked about her experience of completing an apprenticeship, she said: “I chose an apprenticeship because it is business-related and you have the full support of your employer.

“If you are slightly more mature, please don’t let this stand in your way as the students in my class and Chichester College have made me feel very welcome.”

For more information about apprenticeships, visit www.chigroup.ac.uk/apprenticeships, call 01243 812948 or email apprenticeships@chichester.ac.uk